The story
History
West Milford started out as New Milford in what was then western Bergen County in the 18th century, having been settled by disenchanted Dutch from Milford, New Jersey (later renamed by the British as Newark). These same Dutch also built a town of New Milford in eastern Bergen County. When both New Milfords applied for post offices in 1828, a clerk in Washington, D.C. is said to have approved the other application first and assigned the name "West Milford" to the New Milford in western Bergen County in order to distinguish between the two locations.
West Milford became a municipality by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 10, 1834, when it was formed from the westernmost half of Pompton Township, while the area was still part of Bergen County. On February 7, 1837, Passaic County was created from portions of both Bergen County and Essex County, with West Milford as the western end of the newly formed county. The township was named for Milford, Connecticut.
There are old place names in the township including Postville, Utterville, Corterville, Browns, Awosting, Echo Lake, Macopin, Charlottenburg (now under the Charlotteburg Reservoir, the community was named after Queen Charlotte), Clinton (or sometimes called Clinton Furnace, now under the Clinton Reservoir, and the furnace still stands), Moe Mountain, Oak Ridge (partly located in Jefferson Township), Newfoundland, Apshawa, New City, and Smith Mills. Newfoundland is divided by the Pequannock River, which divides Passaic and Morris Counties; a small part of Newfoundland lies within Jefferson Township. A large part of the township, including the New City Village area, is reservoir property owned by the City of Newark in Essex County for its water supply. Prior to the Second World War, the township was a resort area with trains coming from New York City to stations at Charlotteburg, Newfoundland, Oak Ridge in the south and Hewitt (also known as Sterling Forest station) and Awosting in the north. Railroad service in the south was from the New Jersey Midland starting around the 1850s and in the north around the 1870s from the Montclair Railroad, out of Montclair, New Jersey and later the Erie Railroad (before their merger with the Lackawanna Railroad).
Greenwood Lake is an interstate lake approximately 9 miles (14 km) long and covering 1,920 acres (780 ha), lying in both West Milford and Greenwood Lake, New York, across the New York state line. It was originally called Long Pond. It was dammed up to increase the size of the lake for water power down stream. During the resort era, several steamboats operated on the lake, the most famous and grand was the two deck steamer, Montclair. These steamboats met the trains and took passengers to the various resorts around the lake in both states.
There is a seaplane area on Greenwood Lake, a few large marinas and lakeside restaurants with docks. A public airport called Greenwood Lake Airport is located just south of the lake on top of a mountain ridge; its runway is long enough to handle small jets. There is one private airport in the township on a private estate.
After World War II and for the next 20 years the area underwent a major change from a resort area to year-round residences. Before there were year-round houses, the summer residence of Cecil B. DeMille was West Milford. Road maps of the 1950s showing the population on the backside said 2,000 winter and 10,000 summer.
In 1972, Warner Brothers opened up a wildlife theme park called Jungle Habitat, consisting of a drive-through safari and a small park with various shows. Initially, this brought many visitors to the township. Shortly after the park opened, a tourist being driven through the safari in a taxi was attacked by a lion on October 19, 1972, bringing negative publicity to the park. The park was plagued by problems, including reports of dangerous animals escaping into West Milford.
Jungle Habitat added summer and weekend traffic into this rural area made up of small two-lane roads. Jungle Habitat wanted to expand and add an amusement park, but residents concerned with excessive traffic led the township to reject the needed variances combined with declining attendance as the novelty wore off, led the company to announce the park's closure in November 1976. Some of the animals in the wildlife park were subsequently moved to the then-recently established drive-through safari at Great Adventure in Jackson Township. The former site of Jungle Habitat in recent years has become a location for various Township activities such as the annual Fourth of July Fireworks display and is a popular regional mountain biking destination.
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Newfoundland and Green Pond
Newfoundland is a neighborhood of West Milford located along the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (NYS&W) tracks (freight service only) and Route 23. It is also a mailing address for Green Pond (just north of the Picatinny Arsenal in Rockaway Township, Morris County), a private lake community owned by Green Pond Corporation and Lake End Corporation, which lies in Rockaway Township where the Pequannock River divides Passaic County from Morris County.
The 2003 film The Station Agent was set, and filmed, largely in Newfoundland. There was an early silent movie produced in the township at the Mine Hole in the Hewitt section of the township. A still photo of that movie is published in the township's 1984 sesquicentennial book entitled The Day the Earth Shook and the Sky Turned Red.
2010 census
The 2010 United States census counted 25,850 people, 9,625 households, and 7,084 families in the township. The population density was 344.3 per square mile (132.9/km2). There were 10,419 housing units at an average density of 138.8 per square mile (53.6/km2). The racial makeup was 94.06% (24,315) White, 1.40% (362) Black or African American, 0.52% (134) Native American, 1.29% (334) Asian, 0.02% (4) Pacific Islander, 1.06% (273) from other races, and 1.66% (428) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.85% (1,512) of the population.
Of the 9,625 households, 32.4% had children under the age of 18; 61.4% were married couples living together; 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present and 26.4% were non-families. Of all households, 21.7% were made up of individuals and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.12.
22.4% of the population were under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 24.4% from 25 to 44, 33.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.7 years. For every 100 females, the population had 98.4 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 96.8 males.
The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $88,692 (with a margin of error of +/− $4,308) and the median family income was $102,410 (+/− $7,418). Males had a median income of $62,925 (+/− $3,467) versus $45,449 (+/− $2,738) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $37,905 (+/− $2,289). About 1.7% of families and 3.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.5% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over.
Same-sex couples headed 63 households in 2010, an increase from the 58 counted in 2000.
2000 census
As of the 2000 United States census there were 26,410 people, 9,190 households, and 7,186 families residing in the township. The population density was 350.1 inhabitants per square mile (135.2/km2). There were 9,909 housing units at an average density of 131.4 per square mile (50.7/km2). The racial makeup of the township was 95.08% White, 1.23% African American, 0.60% Native American, 1.02% Asian, 0.61% from other races, and 1.45% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.38% of the population.
There were 9,190 households, out of which 39.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.3% were married couples living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.8% were non-families. 16.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.84 and the average family size was 3.23.
In the township the population was spread out, with 27.2% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 33.6% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to 64, and 8.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.4 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $74,124, and the median income for a family was $80,264. Males had a median income of $51,105 versus $37,159 for females. The per capita income for the township was $28,612. About 2.6% of families and 4.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.1% of those under age 18 and 2.9% of those age 65 or over.
Parks and recreation
Norvin Green State Forest covers 5,416 acres (2,192 ha) in parts of West Milford, as well as portions of Bloomingdale and Ringwood.
From Wikipedia’s article on West Milford, New Jersey, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5